1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a ventilating element with a ventilator cap for mounting on the ridge, hip or arris area of a roof, and which has at least one elastically flexible sealing member that extends along a longitudinal edge area of the cap.
2. Description of Related Art
Use of foam sealing members in ventilating elements for roofs are known. The disadvantage is that for varied spacing differences and/or sharp-edged transitions the foam, due to its structure, is not able to achieve sufficient tightness. In addition it is also disadvantageous that the foam undergoes an aging process and embrittles as time passes, so that age and functional endurance are not ensured. Finally, foam requires strong compression which makes it difficult to place, also accessible areas are exposed to bird damage and weathering. Cementing the sealing members of foam to the fan cover also entails the risk that the adhesive will detach and the sealing members fall off.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,393, a ventilator cap is disclosed in which a sealing element extending over the length of the cap on an underside thereof is formed of a fine-fiber brush with a carrier part and a plurality of elastic brush fibers in as flowtight a packing as possible. To minimize the effects of UV radiation and considerable temperature changes (which can cause the fibers to become embrittled, lose their resilience and break off easily, thereby reducing the packing density and sealing efficiency of the sealing element), a protective element is provided on an outer side of the sealing element which influences the elasticity of the brush fibers as little as possible. The fibers can be of the same length or can have lengths which produce a stepped or wedge-shaped inside contour. However, here, the disadvantage exists that the free ends of the brush fibers, therefore the individual fiber tips, can bend, for example, when they abut obstacles such as rough spots or edges, by which the sealing integrity is jeopardized. The brush fibers have the property of very easily lining up, by which flow-tight packing is no longer ensured, and moreover this makes a visually poor impression.